This dog-shaped island in the Indian Ocean measures just 19km from nose to tail and its isolation is compounded by the fact that it went unsettled until the late 1800s.

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It didn’t even have a name until a passing English sea captain, William Mynors, christened the volcanic speck on December 25, 1643.

The Territory of Christmas Island is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. Ethnic Malays and Chinese, the descendants of the workers brought here under colonial rule, make up the bulk of the population while white Australians, who still refer to themselves as ‘Europeans’, account for the rest.

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80 kilometres of shoreline but only small parts of the shoreline are easily accessible. The island's perimeter is embodied by sharp cliff faces, making many of the island's beaches difficult to get to.

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Some of the easily accessible beaches include Flying Fish Cove (main beach), Lily Beach, Ethel Beach, and Isabel Beach, while the more difficult beaches to access include Greta Beach, Dolly Beach, Winifred Beach, Merrial Beach, and West White Beach, which all require a vehicle with four-wheel drive and a difficult walk through dense rainforest.